Clarke, a Bay Area woman and Harvard graduate, says it happened on her way out of state for a tour of national parks. During a pit stop, she and a friend stopped at the Raley’s in Citrus Heights to stock up.

“We bought a lot of groceries. Including a cooler and lots of food.”

A vegan, Clarke spent some time looking for specific items in the deli meat section when a cashier suspected she was stealing, notified a manager and then called police.

“It does not matter where you went to school, it does not matter what job you have. What matters is the color of your skin apparently when you’re grocery shopping,” said Clarke.

Clarke reached out to Raley’s demanding change and company officials say they’ve listened. As of this month, a statement on their website reads: “Annually, all employees will be required to take diversity and inclusion training including a focus on explicit and implicit bias.”

“It’s a sad, sad state of affairs in the world today,” said Clarke.

She says she was told the store employee broke company policy by calling police even after a manager had cleared the shoplifting suspicion. That employee has been terminated.